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= The pangolin food characteristics = Pangolin, Manis Penta-dactyla dalmanni, is a scaly ant-eater and is arguably the most primitive of all the Chinese mammals. In the recent past, the animal has faced extinction threats because it is hunted continuously and used for various purposes, including being a source of food. Interestingly, its demand as food has increased over the years because there is a belief that its scales have medicinal benefits. In most cases, people never use fresh scales. Instead, the scales are dried, roasted and ground to ashes. After this, they are used in cooking oils and vinegar. For instance, among the Chinese, it is believed that eating Pangolin can lower hysterical and nervousness among children. Pangolin can also be used to cure women who are considered to be possessed by ogres and devils. Besides that, the Chinese eat the animal because they view it as a defense mechanism against deafness and fever.

Body and size
According to Save Pangolins, the animals have long snouts and lungs. The whole of their body is covered in scales. Naturally, the scales are supposed to shield them from predators and harsh weather conditions. Like the human hair, the scales are made of keratin and are thus very hard. When Pangolins are threatened, they roll up into balls, and their scales can easily cut an incoming danger. The scales, which are also human’s primary source of food, make up about 15 percent of their total body weight. They are often brownish.

From, Eight species are distributed across Africa and Asia, there are eight different species of Pangolins, and therefore consumers have a wide variety to choose from when deciding on their taste preferences. Their sizes vary from 30.4 centimeters to 99 centimeters and the weigh about 1.6 kilograms which makes them a good choice of meat compared to rats and snakes. Furthermore, they have soft tongues, longer than their head and body combines. It is interesting to note that unlike humans and other animals, the Pangolin tongue is connected at the bottom of its ribcage and not within the mouth. When they are not using the tongue, it is saved in the chest cavity. In many parts of the world, they are hunted because of their long tongues.

Habitat and habits
Most Pangolins are found in sub-Saharan African sandy zones of savannas and woodlands. Others are breed in Asia. They did underground burrows near water sources, and this makes it easy for hunters to trap and capture them. Their holes are easy to identify because they like to live in secluded locations.

Moreover, since they are night hunters, they are easily captured during the day as they spend most of it sleeping. As at now, little knowledge is known about the social life because fewer studies have been conducted about them. In savannas, it is always hot during the day, and it becomes an excellent time to hunt Pangolins since their bodies seem to be inactive when the temperatures are high. After being captured, they can be sold for food in the major restaurant across the continent.

Diet and offspring
Pangolins do not have teeth and this which means that the only way they can injure their predators is through the scales. As a result, they become easy source of food to humans. They majorly feed on insects which makes them very rich in proteins. Termites make a large percentage of their meals as they can easily swallow them using their long tongues. To facilitate their digestion process, they take stones which crush the foods in their stomach making it easy for their body to ingest. Integrated Taxonomic Information System states pangolins have a five-month gestation period after which they give birth to one to two live babies. The short gestation period allows them to rapidly increase their number. The babies ride on their mother’s tail to evade danger until they reach sexual maturity after two years. The hunters can quickly capture a nursing mother since it becomes very protective of its cub and would not run even when threatened by a predator. Due to this, most Pangolins are hunted and killed when they have not reached the maturity age.

Areas
In Sierra Leone, pangolin meat is widely consumed because it is believed to increase the intelligence of an individual. In some areas of Sierra Leone, the mammal is captured, and people drink the blood since it protects them against witchcraft. Similarly, its small intestines are a sign of good luck, and therefore the people will hunt and eat a Pangolin when in need of a job, success, and promotion at work. Generally, the Sierra Leone citizens eat the animal because it is believed to make them invisible especially against their enemies who may be plotting anything dangerous towards them.

The Botswana people eat the animal because of its fats. The Botswana people believe that fats derived from this animal can protect them against evil and bad luck. They also eat them paws and scales to give them the ability to attract lovers. Due to these reasons, in Botswana Pangolins are hunted in large scale and is one of the areas where it faces extinction if proper mitigation approaches are not developed in the next ten to twenty years.

Similarly, in Nigeria, Pangolin is eaten for medicinal roles. The Awori Tribe in the country is medical experts who argue that feeding on the Pangolin scales can treat gonorrhea and stomach disorders. Similarly, eating the scales can cure swelling and itching of the genitals, treat psychological conditions, and lower a person’s likelihood of experiencing a stroke. The meat and blood can also be eaten as an antidote to poison or to remove dizziness. In other instances, the Awori Tribe recommends that people should eat animal meat because it helps the body to create a natural antibiotic needed during injuries like cuts.

However, governments across the globe are against hunting Pangolins for food since it is increasingly threatening their numbers. In 2014, the Zoological Society of London hosted an international awareness day to discourage people from hunting Pangolins for food purposes. The Conservation International has also recognized that unlike elephants and rhinos which are killed for their economic values, Pangolins are majorly killed for food and for cultural practices that include medicinal and protection purposes. Therefore they want all animal conservers in the world to participate in the war against ending hunting of Pangolins to protect them from extinction.